7 Activities to help Relieve Stress at Work during Lunch Break

April 18, 2017

Everyone gets to deal with stress at work at some point or the other. A tight deadline to meet. An appointment to keep. An important decision to make and not wanting to make a decision that ‘haunts’ you.

Work related stress can take a toll on your health because, unfortunately, you may be unable to drop the stress at work and head back home. It just doesn’t happen that way, these things are psychological.

Chronic stress can result in insomnia, high blood pressure, anxiety, and a possibly weakened immune system. It can also contribute to health conditions such as depression, obesity, and heart disease.

Not to scare you, but, it’s that serious and I’m sure you agree with me.

Let me not bore you, I’ll just let you know that I’ve got some good news. Did you know that some easy tips and quick exercises at lunch can help reduce your stress level?

Good news, right?! I thought so too.

We all have different ways to deal with stress and it depends on how we have dealt with similar situations in the past. For many of us, we need positive distractions that can help us keep stress away.

I’ll be sharing a few fun stress-reducing activities that you can do during lunch break at work.

1. Take Pictures or a Selfie

Have a colleague take a picture of you at lunch break

Are selfies still in vogue? I think so! Anyway, taking pictures are so nerve relaxing and I know because I’m guilty of this. I’m not the best of photographers but I sure love to take photos.

Picking up my phone at my spare time and taking a picture no matter how bad it turns out makes me feel relaxed. If you follow me on Instagram, you definitely know what I’m talking about. I love the snap stories because I know that the pictures would automatically disappear after 24 hours.

Have you thought of taking a picture a day, like a documentary? I’m sure it’ll come in handy someday.

2. Write a Journal

Start a journal, what do you say?!

Personally, I love writing and many times I’ll scribble random stuff over many notepads and one time in the past, I actually kept a journal. I’ve not been so faithful lately but there are mental benefits of keeping a journal.

Thankfully, I have this blog to look back on. I can’t even explain the joy I feel when I read some old posts and realize how far I’ve come. This is what a journal can do. When I publish a new post, I’m usually so ecstatic.

These days, when I’m a bit stressed, I write out why I’m feeling stressed and it relaxes me. Then I start scribbling how I can solve the issue at hand and soon after I map out possible solutions.

I want to start keeping a journal during my lunch break, just for record purposes. Although, I somewhat think blogging helps me keep a journal because most of what I write about is as a result of an occurrence in my life.

Oh my! The days I accidentally skip breakfast are some of my worst days. Skipping breakfast could lead to lower concentration which is really important to work actively.

I know I’m presently writing about activities for lunch break, but trust me, you certainly don’t want to miss having breakfast so let’s have this listed!

If for whatever reason you skip breakfast, try to have brunch instead. A good breakfast is important for an active day, especially when you need to be productive.

If you need breakfast recipes for work, I’ve got some collaborations with The Food Disciple on the blog. Search for ‘food’ on the blog and recipes will pop up. You can also visit the ‘relaxation‘ category of the blog.

When you are feeling stressed at work, it could very well be that you are feeling overwhelmed with the amount of workload you have.

A good way to feel relaxed is to plan out your tasks. As I always say, a to-do list is very important at this time. Decide on what task should be allotted more time. Then follow out the plan and work within thew time frame.

5. Drink a Cup of your Favorite Beverage

Here in Canada, the coffee culture is real, but I’m not much of a coffee fan except I need to stay awake all night or go to the gym. Hot chocolate is my go to beverage because I have a sweet tooth.

I love tea too but it depends on my mood at the time and I’m gradually creating a collection.

Anyway, it’s refreshing to have a hot cup of beverage to calm your nerves. Try it! It doesn’t help that a coffee shop is just below my office haha! But, I make mine though.

6. Take a Walk

Taking a walk can be relaxing and energizing. I can be so clingy to my seat. But, I’ve discovered how refreshing it can be to take a walk outside especially when it’s sunny.

A walk will help lift up your mood. Now that it’s Spring, I’m quite excited as I’ll be taking more casual walks during lunch break.

7. Stretch

Stretching your body at work is also a great way to reduce stress at work. See this wonderful video I discovered online. Now watch it and thank me later.

I’ve made a conscious effort to ensure that I walk around every once in a while. I’m just so fond of sitting which isn’t healthy. So let’s be intentional and join me on this.

Did you enjoy this post and would you love to see more posts like this? Also, do you have other exercises to add to this list? Let me know in the comment section below. I love to hear from you.

About me

Ezinne Allen-Obayagbona, fondly called 'Zinny' is the Founder and Lead Copywriter for Zinny Factor. She is an ardent reader and writer with several years of experience. Her articles help readers live a well-rounded life as a worker (whether as an employee, entrepreneur or both, aka side hustler)!
She is also a Wedding Photographer/ Videographer on Allen Oba Studios (www.obaallen.com) and is the Lead Copywriter for the photography blog as well as contributes articles to a number of other publishing platforms.

Same for me with breakfast! When I don’t start my day with it I get headaches and I can’t focus. And yes yes to walks and stretching. When I worked as a research assistant my office was so cold that I couldn’t focus on anything else, so I stepped out occasionally to get some sun and it always made a difference. To be fair it also made me want to stay out there in the sun. Haha. Enjoyed reading this one + Super practical post!!

Hi Tiese thanks for leaving a comment here and sorry for the late response!!! (must have missed this comment) It’s the same for me here as well, my office is usually so cold and it helps to take a walk every once in a while. Canada is usually so cold and when there is sun, I just have to take advantage of it lol. Thanks for reading and all the best this week!!